


Heat Wave

by keltatonic



Category: Megamind (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Comfort, Denial of Feelings, F/M, Heat Stroke, Light Angst, My First Work in This Fandom, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:28:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25208476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keltatonic/pseuds/keltatonic
Summary: Megamind is about to learn the hard way that wearing leather in a heat wave is a bad idea.
Relationships: Megamind/Roxanne Ritchi
Comments: 22
Kudos: 195





	Heat Wave

**Author's Note:**

> Okay--after reading a bunch of fics, I'm finally dipping my toes into this fandom. Kind of sprinted through this story. Might be a little loosey goosey. Crossing my fingers that it holds together. Thank you for reading!

It was August, and an ungodly heat wave had settled over the city, turning the humid air into a veritable sauna. Even breathing felt like a chore in the oppressive, heavy atmosphere. For the most part, Megamind hid in the lair. He didn’t like the heat—or the cold, for that matter—and he had enough half-finished projects to keep him busy. But as the days continued to crawl past, he grew more and more antsy. It had been over two weeks since his last foiled plot, and it didn’t look like the heat would be dissipating for at least another week. His current scheme was prepped and ready, and it even coupled nicely with the hellacious sunshine.

That, and he missed… certain things. About his work.

He didn’t like going more than a couple weeks without… working.

On things.

With… certain people.

…

Mayhem! He _needed_ to cause some mayhem! It was his _purpose_ , after all.

And that fact that Miss Ritchi was an intrinsic part of that…?

Well. He was just lucky Metro Man had chosen such an intelligent, beautiful, spirited woman for himself. She was the perfect bait for the dim-witted ‘hero,’ and that was just… just great.

Super great.

And so, ignoring Minion’s not-so-subtle hints that maybe they should postpone things until the weather broke, Megamind suited up and gave the order to begin his latest operation!

x.x.x.x.x

The smelly bag was pulled from her head and Roxanne let out an annoyed growl at the slightly manic smiling face in front of her. A quick glance around told her that he had tied her to a light pole on the vacant top level of a parking structure—on the south side of town, judging by the skyline. It was midday, and the only shade in sight came from maybe two dozen hovering brainbots and a large enshrouded mechanism sitting a few yards away.

God help him if she got a sunburn!

“Dammit, Megamind! It is _way_ too hot for this.”

His brilliant green eyes danced. “Au contraire, Miss Ritchi, _I_ think it isn’t _nearly_ hot enough.”

“Great. So, I assume you’ll be doing something with lava? Flamethrower? Lasers?” She sighed. “Couldn’t you at least make it a freeze-ray or something? It’s _so_ hot.”

His smile faltered and he lifted his chin in a haughty, offended pout. “Amazingly, your comfort isn’t my first priority.”

She arched a brow in challenge. “Really,” she intoned, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Could have fooled me.” It was never stated outright, but it had been made clear, early on, that her safety _was_ a priority for him.

His eyes narrowed for a moment, before he shook her words off with a sniff. “Whatever you may think, my only concern is defeating your meathead of a boyfriend.” He whirled on heel and strode over to his latest invention, tearing off the sheet concealing it before gesturing grandly. “Behold! The Magniphaser!”

Roxanne stared blankly. “A giant magnifying glass?” Granted the lens was mounted on what looked like a mobile arm, surrounded by an elaborate array of mirrors—presumably for aiming—and the entire array was built over what looked like an intricate control panel, but really… magnifying glass.

“It is the _Magniphaser_!” he reiterated with a scowl.

“So… a ray gun,” she said flatly.

His lips curved into a sharp, angry grin. “Oh ho, but it’s _so_ much more!”

He spun about again and began an enthusiastic monologue. And normally, Roxanne actually enjoyed this part—it was kind of adorable watching his face light up as he discussed his creations, and frankly, the inventions _were_ impressive, albeit frequently cliché—but today, she was far more focused on a droplet of sweat that was getting dangerously close to dripping into her eye. She wrinkled her brow and shook her head and blew at it, finally causing it to roll down her nose instead. Crisis averted, she returned her attention to the situation at hand.

Hm… That was weird.

Usually, Megamind cued up the brainbots and alerted Metro Man before he started explaining things, but the cyborgs were floating listlessly about, and none of them seemed to be filming. Had he forgotten?

It wouldn’t be the first time. When he went straight into a speech, right off the bat, like this, it usually meant he was really excited about his latest doomsday device. But this one…well… it didn’t _look_ that impressive.

And the name. _Magniphaser_? So, like, what? Another Star Trek inspiration? Harness the sunlight, focus it into a beam, like some brat using a magnifying glass to mess with ants? It didn’t strike her as an especially _inventive_ addition to his roster.

So, had he jumped the gun because he was annoyed? Had she _teased_ him into it? Usually he was more self-aware than that. Then again, everyone was feeling a little off with this damn heat wave.

This definitely wasn’t Megamind’s best performance. He was mid-rant, pacing back and forth with an impressive amount of vigor, but it felt… strained. Like a string wound too tight.

She sighed again. Hopefully this would all be over quickly. The sun and heat were already starting to make her a little lightheaded. She wasn’t sure how Megamind could stand it in that leather. And a goddamn cape.

In all the years she’d known him, he usually made himself scarce when the heat was intense like this. She’d wondered if it had to do with his alien physiology—that his body couldn’t dissipate heat as effectively as human’s, or something—or maybe it simply came down to the fact that he didn’t want to compromise on his image and come out wearing anything but his usual getup.

But looking at him now, she wondered if she’d been wrong entirely.

He seemed fine so far. If anything, he was _more_ animated than normal. He continued on with his ‘menacing’ tirade, gesturing wildly as he stalked back and forth in front of his machine, spouting furious, grandiose, meaningless threats.

Roxanne sighed. Okay, this part—the ‘villainous’ segment of his monologuing—tended to wear on her. And since no one else could even see it…

Kind of seemed like a waste of energy. Maybe it was time for her to cut in.

She opened her mouth to speak, but a quick sidelong glance at Minion stopped the words on her tongue. His usually cheery face was twisted in a concerned frown, his eyes fixed on Megamind.

Strange…

She looked back at Megamind—looked _closely_ —and… yes. She could see it; the sweat beading on his brown, the slight trembling as he breathed between sentences, the flushed, almost purplish pallor of his skin.

Oh, for pity’s sake! This wasn’t good.

“—and he, and _all_ of Metrocity will _rue_ the day—” he gestured emphatically.

“Megamind!”

“—they ever—uh—huh?”

His shoulders were rising and falling with every breath.

“You don’t look so good. I think you should take a break.”

“Ha! As if the forces of evil could be so easily outmaneuvered!” he snapped. “I’m on to your ploy, Miss Ritchie. Your paltry tricks won’t deter me from rendering your pathetic boyfriend… er… into smithereens!”

Nope. That didn’t make sense. “Megamind—”

He spun about, marching away. “With my magnificent Magniphaser I will oblitera—”

“Megamind!”

“—ate all hope. The citizens of Metrocity will be forced to acknowledge my _superior_ greatness. With the helpless city in my clutches, you will see a brilliant… _new_ era of… of… tyranny and… and…” He stumbled and wheezed for a moment, before falling to his knees and then crumpling forward, his body limp.

“Sir!” Minion sprinted over to the prostrate form. “Sir?”

Roxanne swore internally, her heart drumming, and pulled at her restraints. “Minion—get me out of these?”

Minion looked up, and then gestured to the nearest brainbot. It hovered over to Roxanne and deftly cut the ropes from around her. Once free, she ran over to where Minion had flipped Megamind onto his back. The fish was shaking him gently, a look of panic on his face.

“Oh, Sir! I _warned_ you about this!”

Megamind’s eyes cracked open and then fell closed again. He let out a miserable groan.

“Do you have any water?” Roxanne asked, kneeling beside Minion and removing Megamind’s gloves before fanning at his face.

“No. I didn’t—”

“My purse. Did you happen to grab it?” She’d been getting out of her car when Minion abducted her. The purse had been in the passenger seat, and she always carried a bottle of water with her. Maybe…?

“No, sorry.” He went back to fumbling with the clasps on Megamind’s cape and collar array.

Damn! Well. They needed to get him some water and they needed to get him out of this heat.

“WAYNE! COME! NOW!” she shouted into the air before turning back to help Minion free Megamind from his blanket of a cape. She hoped to god Wayne wasn’t busy!

A second passed. Then two. Three.

“Hey Roxie—whoa! What’s going on here?” Wayne landed and peered over her shoulder.

“He overheated!” Minion wailed.

“Can you use your superspeed to us all to the lair? Or to my place?” She turned to Minion. “Will he be okay if he cools down?”

“Er—yeah. He—he should be.” Minion glanced down at Megamind, whose breathing was still somewhat labored, then looked over at the so-called Magniphaser, then back down, then to Roxanne. “I should probably clear this up.” He hesitated. “You’d be _willing_ to take him to your place, Miss Ritchi?”

“Yes, of course. You can join us when you’re done. I’ll send Wayne if anything happens, okay?”

Minion tipped his whole body forward in what was obviously a nod, and then climbed to his feet and stepped back.

Roxanne watched as Wayne scooped up a barely conscious Megamind, who squinted up at his ‘savior’ and let out a clearly-displeased noise. Roxanne was just glad he didn’t fight. Or maybe he didn’t have the energy to. Wayne lifted her easily in his other arm and they were at her apartment before she could blink.

The superspeed travel always made her feel a nauseous, so it wasn’t surprising when Megamind convulsed and retched a little on the front of Wayne’s suit.

The larger alien grimaced and pointedly ignored his adversary’s weak smirk.

Good. Megamind had enough energy to find humor in the indignity against his rival—that was a promising sign.

“Just set him on the couch. And see if you can get that leather off,” Roxanne directed, trotting to the kitchen, pulling several dishrags from a drawer and soaking them with cold water. When she returned, Megamind was struggling as Wayne attempted to unzip the leather jacket… shirt… thing. She handed Wayne a towel and met eyes with Megamind.

“You need to cool down,” she said sternly.

He gave her a long, weighty stare, and then leaned forward, revealing the zipper down his back. “Not him,” he muttered lowly.

She looked at Wayne, done cleaning his suit.

He set the rag on the coffee table. “Maybe I should check on Minion?”

“Yeah. Sounds good.”

He cast a sidelong glance at Megamind. “Just, yell if you need anything.”

She nodded.

He was gone in an instant and Roxanne sat gently beside Megamind, handing him another of the rags before reaching for the zipper. The sound it made was almost deafening in the quiet room. Megamind peeled the shirt-thing off and used the rag to wipe away the small amount of sick that had gotten on it.

“I’ll get you some water,” Roxanne murmured, rising.

She brought back a glass, filled to the brim, as well as a bowl of ice cubes. She handed the glass to Megamind, who swished some of the water in his mouth before drinking the rest of it down, while she focused on wrapping the ice in the remaining wet rag. He set the empty glass on the coffee table and hunched forward, elbows resting on knees, the long, graceful line of his neck exposed, and Roxanne briefly lost herself staring at the bare expanse of smooth, blue skin.

She licked her lips and shook herself—what the hell…?

She gently pressed the homemade ice pack to his neck, and he took a sharp, startled breath but kept his eyes resolutely fixed on the floor. Yes, he must be embarrassed. Or angry that his plan had been thwarted before it even began. Probably a bit of both.

Either way, his theatric persona had deflated, and now he was just… him.

… She rather liked him as him.

“How are you feeling?” she asked.

He let out a short, cynical laugh. “Humiliated. With a headache. So, a pretty normal day, I suppose.”

She blinked, surprised by his candidness. He was usually a lot more guarded than this. “At least you’re not headed to prison,” she offered.

His brow quirked and he angled his face toward her. “No?”

“No,” she confirmed. “Just… rest. Recuperate. Don’t kidnap me for a while. Or, you know, ever.” She put a hand on his shoulder for purchase and moved the ice pack down his neck. He let out a soft hiss. “Is this okay?” Was she hurting him?

“N-no. It’s—it’s fine,” he stammered. “Cold.”

She smirked. Good. Cold was the point. “I hope you learned something today. About heat and leather?”

He murmured something too quiet to make out, though she was fairly sure she heard the word ‘presentation.’

“Why didn’t you just wait? It’s supposed to rain next week. The temperature would have dropped.”

“… Evil never hesitates.”

She scowled. She knew him well enough to know that he—for some unknown reason—took comfort in labelling himself as ‘evil,’ but she really wished he wouldn’t. She also knew him well enough to know that he wasn’t anything close to evil. He caused trouble, yes, but it felt like half the things he did were bluff and bluster.

Regardless…

“You should be more careful. Heat stroke can be dangerous, you know.”

He went silent at that, so she continued.

“Maybe… you should think about different clothing for the summer? Fewer layers?”

He lifted his head and looked at her in surprise.

“Granted, I doubt cotton or linen would be _quite_ as intimidating as the leather—”

He made a face of obvious disgust at the suggestions.

“—but fainting isn’t exactly intimidating either,” she said with a teasing smirk.

He dropped his gaze, a light blush coloring his cheeks. “No. I suppose not.”

“Besides—I’m sure whatever Minion came up with would be fantastic.”

He went silent again and she nudged her knee against his.

“Hey—at least the cameras weren’t rolling.”

He frowned, his brows drawing together. “Why…” He took a slow breath. “Why are you being… _nice_ to me?”

She rolled her eyes. “Megamind. We’re… kind of friends… aren’t we?”

He looked at her like she’d gone insane. “ _Are_ we?”

She felt her cheeks go hot. “I mean, it’s not the most _conventional_ friendship.”

“I assumed you hated me.”

And with that, a torrent of emotion was unleashed inside her.

It grated her, how matter-of-factly he said it. There was no inflection whatsoever in his phrasing—as if it were the most obvious, forgone conclusion. And it hurt that _this_ was how he viewed their relationship, even after all these years. Sure, he annoyed her sometimes, and she was positive she had pissed him off on more than one occasion, but hated? He thought she _hated_ him?

God, was she that mean? Yes, she frequently pointed out flaws in his plans, but she wasn’t trying to be malicious! It was equal parts teasing, irritation at being kidnapped for the millionth time, and exasperation that he didn’t use his incredible mind for something more worthwhile. She thought he knew that.

And—so many times their banter had bordered on… something else. Hadn’t it? He _must_ have known!

Truth be told, she wasn’t sure what she felt for him—and her stomach lurched at the thought of analyzing it—but it was a far cry from hatred.

“I don’t hate you,” she finally said. And then her heart plummeted as something else occurred to her. “Do you… hate me?”

He straightened up immediately, and she drew back, her hands and the ice pack falling into her lap. “No! No—no, of course not!” he said quickly, staring at her with eyes like dinner plates. “I just—assumed! I’m incredibly unlikable—ask anyone! But you—no! You’re—you’re not—” He swallowed and dropped his gaze. “You’re not unlikable,” he mumbled.

_Not unlikeable…?_

“… Oh.”

He looked up, and her confused disappointment must have been reflected on her face because he gritted his teeth and let out a frustrated growl. “You’re. Likable. You’re very likable.” He scowled and shook his head. “A person would have to be a fool not to like you.”

Her eyebrows shot up and she felt a strange, nervous fluttering in her stomach. “Oh,” she repeated, a little breathlessly. “And… you’re not a fool?”

He grimaced and pushed himself to his feet. “I think we both know the answer to that,” he said, keeping his face angled away from her.

It was impossible to miss the subtext: he liked her. But… how much?

And why did that make her heart pound in her chest.

“Where are they,” he muttered in an obvious attempt to change the subject. He took a step toward the balcony door, but she grabbed his hand, stopping him.

He looked down at her and she realized she didn’t really have a plan after that. When she didn’t speak, his gaze moved to her hand, wrapped around his, and he gently pulled himself free from her grasp.

“Your boyfriend could be here at any moment,” he murmured, as if to explain.

“Megamind…”

He shook his head and took another step toward the balcony. “I think we’ve said enough.”

“He’s not my boyfriend.”

He froze and half-turned back to her.

“Metro Man—Wayne—he’s not my boyfriend.”

He faced her fully, his head tipped to the side in question.

“He never was,” she explained. “Not my type, really,” she said with a half shrug, feeling her cheeks heat up.

“… Oh.” And for a brief, flickering moment, something like elation danced over his face, but it was quickly snuffed out. “Well. If this is a ploy to stop me from kidnapping you, it won’t work,” he snapped. “He came for you before and he’ll come for you again.”

And okay. Maybe she was reading this all wrong, but—but she felt like there was something going on here between them. And the unspoken things were starting to get confusing and cluttered and maybe it would just be better if she stopped being a coward and put herself out there. After all, what was the worst that could happen?

A broken heart. A ruined friendship. A destroyed career.

Shit.

“Megamind. Would you like to go out with me sometime?”

The seconds dragged by, and he didn’t move, save for blinking. “I… I think… the heat stroke may have affected my brain more than I realized. Could you repeat that?”

She grinned. “Would you like to go out sometime? With me?”

“Out? Like… like a—”

“Like a date, yeah,” she said.

“Like a date,” he breathed, and a slow smile spread across his lips.

She took a step toward him and took his hand in hers.

And he stared at her, a look of absolute wonder on his face. “Yes, Miss Ritchi, I would like that—very much.”

She laughed and stroked her thumb over his knuckles. “You know, you _can_ call me Roxanne.”

He tightened his fingers around hers. “Yes. Roxanne.”

x.x.x.x.x

It was nearly twenty minutes later when the invisible car pulled up outside of Roxanne’s apartment and Minion, disguised by the holowatch as an unusually large and portly woman, stepped out of the car, soon followed by Wayne on the passenger’s side.

“—wasn’t my fault! I didn’t _realize_ there was construction—”

“—I _told_ you to not to take 9th Street! We didn’t _need_ to take streets _at all_! I could have flown us—”

“—Sir does _not_ want _you_ to be his new method of transportation—”

“—could have flown the whole damn car!”

“And risk you dropping it!”

“It doesn’t matter. We’re here.” Wayne threw his hands into the air in obvious defeat. “Whole trip could have taken less than a minute, but whatever,” he muttered under his breath.

“Oh hush. I’m sure Sir will be very grateful that he had a little extra time to recover.”

They made their way into the large apartment building and Minion crossed his fins in anticipation. If his intuition was correct, a few extra minutes alone might be _exactly_ what Sir and Miss Ritchi needed.


End file.
